Sam Steingold <ยทยทยท@goems.com> writes:
> HyperSpec/Body/glo_t.html#time_zone:
>
> time zone n. a rational multiple of 1/3600 between -24 (inclusive) and
> 24 (inclusive) that represents a time zone as a number of hours offset
> from Greenwich Mean Time. Time zone values increase with motion to the
> west, so Massachusetts, U.S.A. is in time zone 5, California, U.S.A. is
> time zone 8, and Moscow, Russia is time zone -3....
>
> It seems that [-12;12] would be quite enough at the moment.
You'd think so. But timezones are dictated politically--and I don't mean
by the politics of a language design committee, but by an elected body
in each country, or by a dictator, or by whatever it is that makes
politics in each and every jurisdiction. And it was observed that
the numbers vary farther than you suggest.
In fairness to those countries, sometimes it's more useful to certain
countries near the wraparound point to lean one way rather than the
other because the ocean being where it is, it's better to be close to
your geographical neighbors than your mathematically dictated ones.
(Btw, I'm surprised, btw, that you didn't suggest making the interval
open-ended on one side--THAT would have been mathematically minimal.
There are 25 hours in your proposed range.)